Xinjiang: Islam Blossoming Under Rule of Law

Contradictory to the West’s false and misleading information regarding repression of Uygur Muslims in Xinjiang, Islam is blossoming with all its religious colors and traditional fashion under the law.

Given the facilities and incentives by the Chinese government, Uygur Muslims are freely practicing all rituals of Islam in line with their established values and tenets.

This was an eye-witness observation of a nine-member Pakistani Media delegation that visited Urumqi and Yining from August 19 to August 23. The delegation visited Xinjiang Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Extremism Exhibition, Xinjiang Islamic Institute, Xinjiang Art Theatre Mukam, Xinjiang International Grand Bazar, Shaanxi Mosque and other various places.

The delegation appreciated the local government’s steps to provide Islamic educational facilities to Uygur Muslims to learn true teaching of Islam that is based on peace and shared development.

The legitimate rights and interests of the people of all ethnicities in Xinjiang have been protected effectively. All ethnic groups, regardless of their populations, have equal legal status and enjoy freedom of religious belief and various rights in accordance with law, including participating in the management of state affairs, receiving education, using their own languages, and preserving their traditional culture. Besides all, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region government also worked to make Uygur Muslims prosperous. Remarkable achievements have been made in eliminating extreme poverty. All 3.09 million impoverished people by current standards have been lifted out of poverty, making absolute poverty a thing of the past in Xinjiang.

Meanwhile, a comprehensive plan is afoot to enroll Pakistani and international students in Islamic studies at the Xinjiang Islamic Institute (XII) as a part of Xinjiang more opening up to the Muslim world and enhancing its true Islam-loving image in the eyes of the world.

This has been revealed by Professor Kamardin Ahmed at Xinjiang Islamic Institute replying to a question to the Pakistan Media delegation.

“Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been designing policies, modalities and set of procedures to make things happen. Once all is finalized, enrollment plan will take effect accordingly,” he said.

Dismissing groundless slander against Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, he said that the government has never prohibited Uygur Muslims to learn and recite Quran (holy Muslim Book) at home. If demanded, Imam (prayer leader of mosque) go to home physically to help Uygur Muslims’ kids to recite and memorize Quran with precision free of cost, he added. Even, the government has developed online Apps for more facilitation of Uygur Muslims to learn recitation of Quran with correct pronunciation, he added.

Responding to a question about the role of Xinjiang Islamic Institute in eradication of terrorism and radicalization in the society, he said that Xinjiang Islamic Institute, established and became operational in 1982, has been producing academic-strong and intellectual Muslim graduates every year.

“These young Islamic scholars representing real face of Islam work to detoxify the minds of innocent Muslims. During their interactions with Uygur Muslim community, they unearth reality of how imposter Muslims and Islamic fanatics using the name of Islam sabotage their lives. They also apprise Uygur Muslims of Islam-promoting rules and regulations being executed by China. This is how through educating and guiding, Xinjiang Islamic Institute has been contributing to deradicalize the society,” he mentioned.

Xinjiang attaches great importance to the training of Islamic scholars and clerics. It set up eight branches in Ili, Changji, Urumqi, Turpan, Aksu, Kizilsu, Kashgar and Hotan. Xinjiang Islamic Institute and its eight branches have been continuing four-year degree programs that includes Quran, Hadith, Islamic Regulation, teaching & action of Prophet (PBUH), History of Islam, History of Islam in China, Culture, Ethics and values. Education is free of cost with hostel facility and canteen and around 600 yuan is given to each student per month for meal.

“The so-called ‘Chinese government’s eradication of Islam’ is nothing but nonsense and slander against China. On the contrary, the Chinese government has been doing a lot to promote the healthy development of Islam,” a Xinjiang Islamic Institute student told the delegation.

“As far as I know, the so-called ‘religious figures detained by the government’ actually are not clerics. They are criminals who, in the name of Islam, promote extremist religious ideas and engage in separatist, destructive and violent terrorist activities. Taking advantage of the simple religious feelings of Muslims, they spread extremist thoughts, wantonly distort the doctrine and Sunnah of Islam, deny all secular concepts and achievements of modern civilization, advocate the concept of ‘martyr for jihad to paradise’ and kill ‘infidels’ and ‘apostates’. Some religious figures of moderate faith are rejected, persecuted and even killed by them,” he revealed.

China is a country under the rule of law. The government cracks down on all kinds of illegal and criminal activities in accordance with the law, including those involving the misuse of religion. In the fight against crime, it has never targeted any particular religion. Religious extremism is not a religion; it is anti-human, anti-social, anti-civilization and anti-religion. In my view, the purpose of combating religious extremism is to better protect legitimate religions.

There have been no violent or terrorist attacks in Xinjiang over the past nearly four years. Religious activities of Muslims in Xinjiang are carried out normally. All this proves that Islam is not being eradicated in Xinjiang but has robustly developed.

In Xinjiang, normal religious activities are guaranteed. These activities of Muslims of all ethnic groups are conducted entirely in accordance with their own wishes and never interfered with by anyone. Following the religious doctrine, Sunnah and other traditions, followers chant, pray, preach, fast, and celebrate Islamic festivals in mosques and in their own houses. As far as I know, tens of thousands of Muslims from Xinjiang have made pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia in recent years. The customs and practices of Muslims of all ethnic groups in food, festivals, marriage, and funeral rituals have been fully respected, and the government has allocated special land for cemeteries for Muslim burial.

The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China provides citizens with freedom of religious belief. No government agency, public organization, or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe or do not believe in any religion. The State protects normal religious activities. The Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy, the Education Law, the Labor Law, and other provisions stipulate that citizens’ rights shall not be differentiated or discriminated on the basis of religious belief, including the rights to vote and stand for election, to receive education, to enjoy equal employment and more.

The false claim about “millions of Uygurs detained” in education and training centers was initiated and spread by “Chinese Human Rights Defenders”, an NGO supported by the U.S. government. Based on interviews with eight Uygurs and rough estimation, the organization came to the preposterous conclusion that at least 10 percent of the 20 million people in Xinjiang are detained in “re-education camps”.

The education and training centers in Xinjiang are no different in nature from deradicalization centers or community correction and desistance and disengagement programs of many Western countries. It has been proven to be a successful exploration in preventative counter-terrorism and deradicalization, consistent with the principle and spirit of counter-terrorism resolutions including the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and the UN Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism. At the centers, trainees acquire necessary knowledge and employability skills, and gain a stronger sense of national identity, citizenship and rule of law.

The article reflects the author’s opinions, and not necessarily the views of China Focus.